In joy stick assemblies, strain gauges are used to measure the force and the direction of the force applied to the joy stick by the user. Such prior art joy stick assemblies utilize a joy stick support structure that is deflected or strained by the joy stick. Individual strain gauges are laboriously adhered to the sides of the joy stick support structure to measure the deflection of the support structure, and electrical leads are tediously soldered to the contacts of the strain gauges. Due to the minute size of the strain gauges, it is very difficult and expensive to accurately adhere the strain gauges to the support structure. Likewise, it is very difficult to solder the electrical leads to the tiny contacts on the strain gauges.
As well as being very labor intensive and therefore expensive, the laborious and tedious assembly required in the prior art strain gauge joy stick assemblies greatly increases the probability of defects in the assembly that destroy the accuracy of the measurements, or even render the device inoperative. Also, since the electrical leads are soldered to the strain gauges, the assembly is not readily removable for repair or replacement.
The present invention provides a printed circuit strain gauge structure and a joy stick strain gauge assembly that can be readily and releasably connected with closely packed circuit terminals on a printed circuit board or directly to a printed circuit board.
A further objective of the invention is to provide a joy stick and strain gauge assembly that is relatively easy and inexpensive to manufacture.
Another object of the invention is to provide a joy stick and strain gauge assembly having improved reliability and enhanced performance.